Chapter 74
“Are you looking for a painter?”
“Yes.”
Maurice adjusted his glasses with a serious expression.
After the emperor’s return, the palace had been thrown into utter chaos.
It wasn’t just the palace—almost all the nobles in the capital were holding their breath, watching the palace’s every move.
“A painter…”
Gredi tilted his head in curiosity.
Although it was called a separate palace, it was still the emperor’s residence. Inside, the guards had been pulled away to allow Eliana to go to her room, but outside, it was a different story.
Moreover, the nobles had brought along the most skilled knights from their households for the hunt.
Breaking through the heavy security to reach the room where Eliana stayed would have been one thing, but leaving without leaving a trace was impossible.
“The nobles who brought painters to the separate palace are, right now, in utter despair,” Maurice said, and Gredi nodded in agreement.
The emperor’s knights had been combing the mansions, questioning everyone about their ties to the painter. Even the innocent would feel a chill down their spine.
“…”
“Why that expression?”
Seeing Gredi tap his temple and tilt his head curiously, Maurice put down the stack of documents he had been holding.
“The emperor wasn’t attacked in my room.”
“Excuse me?”
Maurice’s expression changed at this completely unexpected information. His eyes behind the glasses sharpened instantly.
“That day, the emperor was in Eliana’s room.”
“What! What do you mean!?”
Maurice, unable to restrain himself, raised his voice before quickly lowering it.
“It seems someone tried to push me into Orante Forest and assault Eliana.”
“Insane.”
Maurice clenched his fists in rage.
Gredi lowered his eyes. Even after several weeks, the anger hadn’t subsided—it still boiled like lava.
“…The room the emperor was attacked in wasn’t his bedroom—it was the room Eliana and I were staying in.”
Maurice slammed his hand on his forehead and trembled. Unable to control his anger, he sprang up and darted between the towering piles of documents.
“Really! Isn’t that insane?”
Not that Gredi could scold him about the emperor, but he didn’t intervene. He was already holding back even harsher words internally.
Maurice waved his hands, exhaling repeatedly, sending strands of his hair flying with each breath.
“So that’s why the investigation has stalled.”
Finally connecting the pieces of the puzzle, Maurice flopped onto the sofa, sending a small cloud of dust into the air.
“Of course, there’s no way the investigation could progress with so much that needs to be hidden.”
Maurice clicked his tongue at Gredi’s calm demeanor.
“Are you all right?”
“Me?”
Maurice nodded.
“How do I look?”
“You look perfectly fine, which worries me even more.”
Gredi smiled faintly. Rising from the sofa, he stared intently at Maurice.
“There’s so much to resolve that I don’t even know where to start.”
“Let’s take it step by step,” Maurice said, tapping his head.
Maurice, who had a habit of taking notes on everything, was the kind of person whose mental storage of events should never leak externally. Sensing the gravity in Gredi’s words, he shut his mouth and focused.
“I need to investigate the death of Marquis Neumann in detail.”
“Marquis Neumann? Wasn’t he the Grand Duchess’s ex-husband?”
Gredi nodded.
“The cause of death wasn’t a heart attack.”
“I can hardly follow this story,” Maurice sighed, feeling like he was staring at a tangled knot.
“Actually, he was murdered… and Eliana is involved.”
Maurice went pale in an instant. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply, analyzing the case like a lawyer assessing a crime.
“She was alive the last time she was seen,” Gredi said.
“What harm was done to the victim?”
Seeing Maurice’s serious expression, Gredi paused in thought. He had no sense of how far he should expose Eliana’s secrets.
“Grand Duchess, a lawyer must know the case better than anyone.”
Even without this, the inheritance dispute left by Marquis Hoffmann and Marquis Neumann was enough to drive one mad. And now, a murder case, with the perpetrator being the Grand Duchess herself.
“…Hoffmann knows about this?”
“Hmm.”
Gredi groaned softly. So that was why the stubborn marquis held his head so high—it made sense now.
“We could frame it as an accidental death during a marital dispute. But if the jury finds out that the victim’s life was in obvious danger and she fled, they won’t remain passive.”
“…That’s not all.”
Stopping Maurice from quickly summarizing, Gredi bit his lip.
“So… there’s another variable?”
“Eliana had been abused by Marquis Neumann for a very long time.”
“…”
“Mentally and physically.”
“You need to specify to the jury just how far it went. This isn’t just any case—it’s a husband’s murder.”
Women’s social standing was still relatively low in the empire. Even with solid evidence, gaining the upper hand was difficult.
“She was whipped all over her body.”
“Excuse me?”
“She tried to get up and escape because she thought she would die if beaten further. Unfortunately, the marquis fell and hit his head on the bedpost.”
Gredi ruffled his hair and exhaled slowly, feeling some relief in the chest tightness.
“…”
“Seeing that, I rescued Eliana when she tried to find her way to her death.”
Gredi let out a bitter laugh. His hand slowly ran over his hair, the ring on his fourth finger catching the sunlight.
He habitually fiddled with the ring—it had become natural for it to be there.
“Is there anyone who can testify that the Grand Duchess was abused?”
Gredi shook his head.
“No one. Even I, who saw it with my own eyes, thought it was just her unusual sexual preference and mocked her.”
“Hm. So all rumors about the Grand Duchess were false, then.”
Maurice exhaled through his nose, trying to calm himself.
“When the marquis started hunting, Marquis Hoffmann sent all the servants away and guarded the first floor himself.”
“Good heavens… did the father sacrifice his daughter?”
Gredi nodded.
The reality Eliana had revealed was horrifying. The words, just sounds, played before him like a cruel vision. He wanted to strangle Marquis Hoffmann immediately.
He bit back his own tongue, cursing himself for having mocked Eliana, who survived such torment.
“Ha!”
Maurice sighed. Listening to Gredi, he still could not comprehend.
“Can a parent really do that to their own child?”
Gredi shook his head in disbelief.
“…There are many cases in the empire where children are sold due to lack of food or gambling debts.”
Maurice’s conflicted emotions showed plainly, a melancholy smile lingering on his lips.
“So Marquis Hoffmann isn’t the only parent selling their children?”
Gredi clicked his tongue.
“There are creatures worse than beasts everywhere. But before that, consider this.”
Maurice’s gaze had turned to the window, looking toward Tread Street, the largest slum in the capital.
“What are you thinking?”
“Why they have to sell their children, why they wander the streets in broad daylight drunk on gambling and alcohol.”
Following Maurice’s gaze, Gredi saw children huddled under a bridge and groups of drunkards along the riverbank.
“…”
“Is there a reason?”
“They have no future.”
“What?”
“No matter how hard they work today, there’s no guarantee they won’t starve tomorrow.”
Maurice did not avert his eyes from Gredi.
Gredi had no concern for the empire’s wellbeing. Burdened by immense secrets, despite being a prince and war hero, he wasted time being led by the emperor’s leash.
Gredi roughly swept his face with his hand.
“Why is the world so complicated!”
“It’s not complicated at all, Your Highness.”
“What?”
“Just as water flows from top to bottom, if the highest place in the empire changes, hope will return to them as well.”
At Maurice’s words, Gredi sank deep into the sofa. After a pause, he feigned calm and asked:
“…Are you suggesting rebellion?”
“I’m simply showing that if you cannot find the key to the shackles, there’s always a way to break them.”
Maurice averted his gaze first.
He had never asked why Gredi was dragged around by Rozella, and Gredi had never seriously explained it either.
Yet, having spent so many years together, Maurice had a vague sense that Gredi’s true feelings were not directed toward Rozella. Maurice was the one who most lamented Gredi’s wasted years.
“Haha. Why are you only telling me this method now?”
“Now, Your Highness, it seems you have something worth protecting.”
“…”
“After the Grand Duchess, who do you think will be next?”
“…”
Regardless of Gredi’s silence, Maurice continued without hesitation.
“Your Highness’s children, whom you would die for, will be next.”
“….”
Gredi swallowed. For the first time, the future with Eliana—a future he had longed for—was mentioned. The sharp warning that this future could be distorted by the Empress and the Emperor’s oppression left him breathless.
“The Empress has been unable to conceive for a long time. Do you still not know what she might do out of jealousy?”
Gredi’s face hardened as Maurice spoke.
He knew Rozella and Mateo better than anyone. And, as Maurice said, they could do anything to him without restraint.
